A need exists for improvements in existing procedures and devices to fabricate large areas of structures, including microstructures and nanostructures. For example, one important area of technology is the ability to transfer materials from a tip, or an array of tips, to a substrate. For example, dots and lines can be formed by this method, which is a direct write patterning or lithography method. Nanoscale tips can be used to form nanoscale structures. One application for such structures includes better engineering of cells including, for example, stem cells.